Chapter 8 - The Truth About Lena
The hospital room was quiet except for the soft beeping of machines.
Angel slept in a clear bassinet beside the window. Doctors said he was recovering. He had been dehydrated and underfed, but he was strong.
“Stronger than anyone expected,” one nurse said.
Emily thought that sounded like a good thing.
Monica sat beside her daughters, holding both their hands. Her face was bruised, but she was alive.
That was all Emily cared about.
Adrian came in late that evening.
He had removed his suit jacket. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, and he looked tired in a way money could not fix.
He carried a stuffed elephant.
“For Angel,” he said.
Grace smiled. “He already has a doll.”
“That’s Emily’s doll,” Emily corrected.
“It can be his elephant friend,” Grace decided.
Adrian placed it beside the bassinet.
Then he looked at Monica.
“I owe you an apology.”
Monica’s face hardened. “For what part?”
“For the danger you and your daughters faced because of my family.”
“It wasn’t your family,” Claire said quietly from the doorway.
Everyone turned.
Claire stood there with a police detective beside her. Her face was pale but determined.
“It was Victor,” she said. “And people who helped him.”
She placed a folder on the table.
“Lena knew Victor was stealing from West Enterprises. She found accounts connected to shell companies. She was going to tell Adrian after the baby was born.”
Adrian stared at the folder.
“She left this with me,” Claire continued. “She said if anything happened to her, I should make sure Adrian saw it.”
“Why didn’t you?” he asked.
Claire began crying.
“Because Victor threatened my brother. I thought I could protect everyone by staying quiet. Instead, I made it worse.”
Adrian looked at the bassinet.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Then he asked, “Did Lena know she was in danger?”
Claire shook her head.
“No. She trusted Victor too.”
Adrian pressed a hand to his mouth.
Emily watched him.
She had expected him to be angry.
Instead, he looked broken.
Monica spoke softly. “You can’t change what happened to her.”
Adrian looked at her.
“But you can decide what happens to him.”
His eyes moved to his sleeping son.
“I will.”
The next day, the news exploded.
Victor Hale was arrested on charges of kidnapping, conspiracy, attempted murder, fraud, and the murder of Lena West. His face appeared on every television in the hospital lobby.
Reporters called it the biggest corporate criminal case in the city’s history.
But none of that mattered to Emily.
She only cared when Angel opened his eyes.
He looked at her.
Then he made a tiny sound.
Grace gasped. “He knows you!”
Emily touched his little hand.
“He knows we found him.”
Monica smiled sadly.
“Yes,” she said. “I think he does.”
That afternoon, Adrian asked to speak with Monica privately.
Emily sat outside the room with Grace, trying to hear through the door.
“You can’t listen,” Grace whispered.
“I’m not listening.”
“You are literally pressing your ear against the door.”
Emily stepped back.
A few minutes later, Monica came out with tears in her eyes.
“Mom?” Emily asked. “What did he say?”
Monica looked at both girls.
“Mr. West offered us a place to live.”
Grace jumped up. “A house?”
“A real house,” Monica said.
“With walls that don’t leak?”
“Yes.”
“And food?”
“Yes.”
Emily frowned.
“What does he want?”
Monica looked back through the doorway at Adrian.
“He says he wants to help.”
Emily crossed her arms.
“People who help sometimes want things.”
Monica nodded.
“You’re right.”
“Are we going?”
Monica looked at Angel.
Then at her daughters.
May you like
“We’ll decide together.”
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